TROY — Steve Dietrich, of Sidney, was honored recently at the West Region Ohio Community Theater Association (OCTA) Festival hosted by Troy Civic Theatre at the Barn in the Park in Troy. Dietrich was presented with the Spirit of Community Theatre Award from OCTA. Nominated by Troy Civic Theatre, he is a founding member of The Perennial Theatre Company of Urbana and has worked with Troy Civic Theatre, Wapakoneta Theatre Guild, Windmill Productions (Bellefontaine), Amil Tellers of Dramatics (Lima), and Sock & Buskin Players in Sidney. He is currently president of Sock & Buskin.
Dietrich also received an award for Merit in Set Design for Sock & Buskin’s excerpt of “Things My Mother Taught Me.” The cast of Sock & Buskin’s show received Merit in Ensemble for their performance which was also directed by Dietrich.
Mike Maxson, Conover, received an award for Merit in Acting for his portrayal of Wyatt in “Things My Mother Taught Me.” Nancy Besecker, Covington, also received Merit in Acting as Lydia along with Niccole SueAnn Wallace, Piqua, who received Merit in Acting as Karen both in the same show.
“tThese festivals are held annually in June and July in the six different regions of Ohio. Community theaters perform a 40-minute excerpt of a show that was a part of their regular season and then are critiqued by three responders. Two shows are then invited to go on and showcase their excerpt at the State Conference to be held this year in Perrysburg, Ohio over Labor Day weekend,” OCTA Regional Rep Christi Thomas said.
The West Region of OCTA encompasses eight counties and includes nine community theaters in the West Central area of Ohio. Five theaters participated in the recent festival which was attended by over 75 theater enthusiasts from all over Ohio. Founded in 1953 for the purpose of promoting excellence and creativity in live theater by providing its members educational opportunities for growth in artistic and technical aspects of theater, and to promote community awareness and understanding of, and access to, live theater, OCTA holds regional festivals and the state conference annually.
